Editorial:
The 79th Assembly District encompasses San Ysidro, Imperial Beach, Coronado, West Chula Vista, National City, and the communities of San Diego South of I-94 and West of 805. This District is overwhelmingly Democrat and Hispanic. There are three candidates, all Democrats, running for the seat: Jack Doyle, a retired Navy Captain; Pearl Quinones, Sweetwater Unified High School Board member; and Ben Hueso, City of San Diego Councilman.
Jack Doyle we know very little about, except that he is a retired Navy man, has served as a board member of SANDAG and as a board member of the San Diego Trolley other than that he is pretty much an unknown factor to the communities of the South Bay.
Ben Hueso is a councilman for District 8 in the City of San Diego which covers South San Diego and San Ysidro. He is finishing his first term in office. As has been the trend with all District 8 councilmen at the first opportunity, they seek a different office hoping to get out of the District and Hueso is no different.
District 8 has some of the biggest issues and problems, and is the poorest district in the city. And with Hueso leaving after only term, none of the issues are adequately addressed nor is there any continuity in the district. District 8 has become nothing more than a revolving door for politicians, with the residents left holding the bag.
With this part time representation nothing much has really changed in District 8, with the exception of the gentrification taking place in Barrio Logan. Hueso has been able to parlay his political connections into an appointment on the Coastal Commission, after one short term and despite seeking another term he was replaced, and as president of the city council. The promise of Hueso serving as president of the council was that he would have the influence to bring about change for the district, but with barely only one term, it is hard to gage his success or failures. He has nothing more to show than his appointments.
In our opinion Pearl Quinones represents the best choice for the voters of the 79th Assembly District. Ms Quinones has lived the past 28 years in National City. Her professional career has been that of a counselor in San Ysidro School District, and the residents of the South Bay have elected her three (3) times to serve on the Sweetwater Unified School Board.
As a board member of Sweetwater School Board, this district has been one of the best run districts in the nation according to Newsweek which ranked the district #5 in the nation. During these tough economic times and while most school districts have been laying off teachers and staff, the Sweetwater district has not had to fire one employee – this is the type of leadership we need in Sacramento.
Ms Quinones knows the district, she knows the people, and she knows the issues. Quinones doesn’t talk about creating jobs, she does something about it. As a school board member she fought for career training, creating the High School Redesign Career Opportunity program. Students now get hands on training at NASSCO, will learn from the trades, criminal justice, broadcasting, and other career opportunities.
Quinones created the first ever Teen Pregnancy Prevention Task Force at Sweetwater District, oversees a billion dollars in construction projects, and she has worked hard to keep the construction jobs local.
But the highlight of her tenure as a school board member is seeing the dropout rate decline and the test scores of the students improve. After three terms on the school board she has record that you can look to and judge her ability.
For these reasons we Endorse Pearl Quinones for the 79th Assembly District, someone with a proven track record.